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Novara

Commencing its 70th season this past weekend, the 2017 Italian Baseball League (IBL) is the talk of the town in Bologna, Rimini, San Marino, Nettuno, Parma, Padova, Novara and Padule Sesto Fiorentino. Eight Italian teams from those regions are divided into two groups of four and will play games every weekend. The top squads from each division will square off in a best-of-five-game series semi-final and final competitions between August 18 and September 9, 2017. Defending champions UnipolSai Bologna, who claimed their 10th IBL title in 2016, will likely show their winning form again in 2017, while new IBL contender, Padule Sesto Fiorentino, is viewed as an outside long shot. Let’s get a closer look at each team’s roster to understand why everyone is so excited about professional baseball in Italy.

UnipolSai Fortituto Bologna manager Lele Frignani has put together a well-balanced roster of seasoned veterans and up-and-coming stars. The always dependable Roberto Corradini mentors a strong Bologna pitching staff which includes former Boston Red Sox prospect Nicolo Clemente, former Team Italy WBC pitchers Filippo Crepaldi, Luca Panerati and Nick Pugliese, Venezuelan newcomer Raul Garcia Junior, and the American-born duo of Justin Cicatello and Rudy Owens. Azzurri catcher Marco Sabbatani shares the catching duties with veteran Venezuelan backstop, Osman Marval. Bologna boasts a quality infield featuring a pair of Azzurri favorites in first baseman Alex Sambucci and second baseman Alessandro Vaglio as well as two outstanding imports: Venezuelan shortstop Jose Flores, and Dominican third baseman Robel Garcia. Center fielder Paolino Ambrosino, who was the first Italian-born player to participate in the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League while playing for the 2016-17 Tigres de Chinandega, joins fellow Italians Alessandro Grimaudo and Alex Russo as well as the San Francisco-born Nick Nosti to round out the Bologna outfield.

2016 IBL runner-up Rimini seeks revenge against Bologna this season under the leadership of manager Paolo Ceccaroli. Former LA Dodger prospect Federico Celli teams up with Italian American Nico Garbella, Cuban All-Star Maikel Caseres and Venezuelan Carlos Duran to make up what some believe to be the best outfield in the IBL. Azzurri pitchers Jose Escalona, Carlos Richetti, and Carlos Teran give Rimini depth on the hill. Dominican hurler Jose Rosario and former Marlins Venezuelan prospect Ricardo Hernandez add even more appeal to the Pirates pitching staff. Shortstop Juan Carlos Infante, a name many may recall seeing on the 2013 Team Italy WBC roster, leads a talented crew of infielders including first baseman Daniele Malengo, second basemen Lino Zappone and Freddy Noguera in addition to third baseman Lorenzo Di Fabio. Catchers Gionni Luciani and Antonio Giovannini complement the Rimini roster.

T&A San Marino GM Mauro Mazzotti has faith that team manager Marco Nanni can bring an IBL championship title to the “most serene republic” sooner than later with a slew of tried and tested athletes hungry for success. Loyal Azzurri players include DH Mario Chiarini, outfielders Sebastiano Poma, Lorenzo Avagnini, and Mattia Reginato as well as pitchers Nick Morreale, Frailyn Florian and Junior Oberto. Former Houston Astros prospect Carlos Quevedo, Andres Perez and Yoimer Camacho are a trio of dangerous Venezuelan pitchers that will try to keep opponents off balance and off the bases. Tomasso Cherubini and Ludovico Coveri complete the San Marino pitching staff. Shortstop Erick Epifano, who played four seasons in the Dominican and Venezuelan Summer Leagues as a former MLB prospect, heads up the San Marino infield with the assistance of first basemen Gabriele Ermini and Francesco Imperiali, second basemen Riccardo Babini and Luca Pulzetti in addition to third basemen Leonardo Ferrini. Simone Albanese, Daniele Cenni and Pierangelo Cit divvy up the catching for T&A San Marino.

Angel Service Nettuno Baseball City manager Alberto D’Auria will try to get his team of spirited players into the IBL playoffs for the second consecutive season. Former LA Dodgers prospect Federico Giordani joins fellow Italian teammates Ennio Retrosi and Stefano Giannetti as well as Venezuelan Ronald Bermudez and Italian American Nick Davenport in the Nettuno outfield. Shortstop and former Atlanta Braves prospect Mattia Mercuri complements the Nettuno infield along with Dominican-born Omar Luna, Argentine-born Sebastian Fontana and Renato Imperiali at first base, Andrea Sellaroli at second base, and Giuseppe Mazzanti and Leonardo Colagrossi at third base. 25-year-old American import pitcher Ethan Carnes, who pitched three years in the NY Yankees minor league system, makes Angel Service Nettuno an intriguing IBL entry. Other pitchers on the squad include Milvio Andreozzi, Matteo Modica, Yuri Morellini, Valerio Simone, Paolo Taschini, and Venzuelan Ronald Uviedo. Catchers Mario Trinci, Angelo Taurelli and Vinicio Sparagna add strength to the Nettuno roster.

Parma Clima advisor Sal Varriale takes pride in his important role and his invaluable contribution to Italian baseball for the past four decades. Honored by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) with the 2012 ABCA Meritorious Service Award, Varriale was recently acknowledged in Parma when he was awarded The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Ordine al merito della Repubblica Italiana) and the title of Knight of the Republic (Cavaliere della Repubblica). Entrusting former Team Italy coach and current Parma manager Gilberto Gerali to assemble a competitive squad capable of winning the 2017 IBL Championship title, Varriale is confident the team chemistry in Parma will yield remarkable results on the diamond. Starting with Azzurri faithful Stefano Desimoni in the outfield and Yomel Rivera on the mound, Parma Clima can do no wrong. Recruiting four Venezuelan standouts: former MLB pitcher Eduardo Sanchez (St. Louis Cardinals/Chicago Cubs), shortstop and former LA Dodgers prospect Leon Mirabal, third baseman and former Colorado Rockies/Boston Red Sox prospect Mario Martinez as well as closer Gumercindo Gonzalez plus one Columbian All-Star in third baseman Adolfo Gomez, is no easy task. Combine this international arsenal with the prowess of local players like pitcher Michele Pompani, second baseman Manuel Piazza, third baseman Luca Scalera and outfielder Leonardo Zileri, Parma is destined to be the team to beat in the 2017 IBL playoffs.

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In the IBL for its third year, Tommasin Padova manager Francesco Aluffi’s team is getting better with age. Perhaps the biggest acquisition since Lenny Randle joined the IBL, Padova recruited former MLB veteran Mark Teahen to come out of retirement to play during the 2017 IBL Season. While vacationing in Italy and working out in Bologna three years ago, the left-handed-hitting utility player expressed interest in playing baseball in the IBL. During his seven-year MLB career, Teahen had 759 hits, including 67 homers, while playing for the Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays. Other Padova imports include Venezuelans Roberto Canache, who pitched in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, and infielder Carlos Perdomo as well as Dominican left-handed pitcher Yunior Novoa, who has quality spent time in the minor and independent leagues before landing in Italy. The synergy between Azzurri pitcher Enrico Crepaldi and catcher Elia Marinig provides Padova with an edge over opposing hitters, while Andrea Berini offers extra protection in the outfield with his speed and agility.

Padova BP pitcher Roberto Tommasin (center) in 2015

Renny Duarte, who European baseball fans will recall served as the long-time pitching coach for Spain, takes over the managerial duties for Novara. Joining Duarte in the IBL is Team Spain shortstop Oscar Angulo, whose offensive excellence was key to the team’s silver medal finish in the 2016 European Baseball Championship. Led by Azzurri veterans Jairo Ramos and Yovani D’Amico, Novara has an international pitching syndicate featuring Jonathan Aristil from the Dominican Republic and Raul Ruiz from Venezuela in addition to Brent Buffa and Jeremy Castro from the USA. Other players of interest include local pitching favorites Nicolas Loardi and Pietro Paolo Cadoni plus Venezuelan catcher Luis Alvarez and Italian Dominican infielder Nathanael De Jesus. Novara should not be taken lightly as the new skipper Duarte plays to win and his players will follow his lead.

Novara shortstop Oscar Angulo is powerful at the plate. (Photo by Ezio Ratti/FIBS)

Polisportiva Padule Sesto Fiorentino manager Paolo Minozzi knows he has a big job ahead as the leader for the newest addition to the IBL. Former Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Jesus Parra and former Chicago Cubs pitching prospect Carlos Rodriguez, a pair of strong arms from Venezuela, make their IBL debut for Padule Sesto Fiorentino. Minozzi recruited some of the best Italian pitchers available including: Alessandro Ularetti, Marco Costantini, Massimiliano “The Rocket” Geri, Filippo Gandolfi and Matthias Zotti. The catching quartet of Fabio Origlia, Davide Tomaello and Valdemaro Faticanti and Marco Valsecchi will get their fair share of time behind the plate. With first base being anchored by Emiliano Lumini and Samy Ramirez, infielders Marco Labardi, Samuele Reggioli, Manuel Ricci and Livinston Santaniello split the second baseman and shortstop duties. Cubans Yordany Alarcon and Yordany Scull stake their claim to third base and center field respectively, while Nazzareno Neri and Rojelio Maldonado round out the Padule outfield. There is no doubt the new kids on the block will experience growing pains throughout season; however, Padule Sesto Fiorentino is a welcome addition to the IBL.

Italian landmark, the Grosseto CathedralTuscany is regarded as the true birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and home to many influential legends in the history of arts and science–including Petrarch, Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Niccolo Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Amerigo Vespucci, Luca Pacioli and Puccini. The province of Grosseto lies in southern Tuscany and possesses a rich artistic heritage as well as a small and fascinating center of medieval and Renaissance material and archeological sites that preserve Roman and Etruscan treasures.
Baseball in Italy got its first break in the late 19th century when two American naval ships, the USS Lancaster and the USS Guinnebaug, arrived in the Tuscan port of Livorno. The American servicemen held their first baseball game on January 23, 1884 at the Campo d’Osservazione AKA Observation Field. Enthusiastic crowds cheered on the players, and the games garnered enough interest in the media to include coverage by Livorno’s newspaper, La Gazzetta Livornese. With an eager international following in Italy, early baseball pioneer Albert Goodwill Spalding served as a ‘Goodwill’ ambassador of the sport and held tournaments in Florence, Naples, and Rome in 1889. In an effort to unite forces with the allied Italian Army during World War I, the American Army taught Italian soldiers the sport and held baseball games between the two armies.
Any inter-war following was soon decimated upon the rise of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, which banned baseball for its American influence. Baseball experienced an Italian Renaissance post-World War II under the leadership of Ottino and Graziani, when the Lega Italiana Softball and the Lega Italiana Baseball leagues were created. The first professional baseball game between two Italian teams was held on June 27, 1948 in front of 2000 fans at Giurati stadium in Milan. These two leagues would eventually evolve into what is known today as the Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS), the governing body of baseball in Italy.
The Italian Baseball League (IBL) was founded in 1948 and is comprised of teams from Bologna, Parma, Nettuno, Rimini, Godo, Novara and Grosseto as well as the culturally Italian yet independent country San Marino. These eight teams compete in a 42-game season. Each team is allowed to have up to four non-Italian citizens, and each team must have at least six Italian citizen baseball players on the field at any given time. Former American players have found a second home in the IBL, including Jay Palma–the 1980 sixth-round draft pick of the New York Mets and current coach for the Novara United team.Pitcher Mike Hartley believes Italy will rally round a winning team as manager of Grosseto.Perhaps the most interesting catch for the Italian Baseball League is the recently signed 50-year-old Grosseto manager Mike Hartley. The former San Diego Grossmont College ace and Major League pitcher was in his late twenties when he made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 10, 1989 and went on to play for the Phillies, Twins, Red Sox and Orioles. In his six Major League seasons, he made 202 appearances and complied a 19-13 record with a 3.70 ERA. Hartley also pitched successfully internationally in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 1994 and for Nettuno (Serie A1) in Italy in 1998. His coaching skills were just as impressive as he led the German club Heidenheim Heidekoepfe to a national championship in 2009 and the European Champions Cup Finals in 2010. In addition, Hartley coached the Croatian national team back to the 2011 European Championship (A Pool). The new Grosseto manager commented, “At higher levels, I coach to win and I hate to lose. At lower levels, the focus is on development. In short, work hard, believe in yourself and respect the game of baseball.”Grosseto will benefit with the addition of former MLB pitcher Mike Smith on the mound and as pitching coach.Michael Anthony Smith was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 5th round of the 2000 amateur draft at the end of his college career at the University of Richmond. He pitched in 14 games for the Blue Jays in 2002 including six starts. The Minnesota Twins acquired Smith from the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2005-2006 offseason, but he was not called up to the Major Leagues until August 2, 2006. Smith played for the 2009 Brother Elephants team in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).
He led the 2010 Brockton Rox of the Can-Am League in wins (12) and ERA (2.87) in 125.1 innings. He was also named to the 2010 Cam-Am All-Star Team, along with Rox teammate and newly signed Grosseto catcher Chris Grossman. Smith went 8-5 with a 3.99 ERA in 94.2 innings during his 2011 Brockton Rox pitching campaign. The 34-year-old MLB veteran will prove to be a valuable asset for the Tuscan squad both as regular starting pitcher as well as mentor and pitching coach for the talented roster of Grosseto hurlers.Having played for the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Grosseto catcher Chris Grossman is a huge boost to any pitcher's confidence and mental stamina.Standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 235 pounds, Grosseto catcher Chris Grossman will intimidate any hitter approaching the batter’s box with his mere physical presence. Having played for the last three-plus seasons for the Brockton Rox, the 31-year-old former Cal Berkeley star is a pitcher’s best friend for having a brilliant mind and an innate sense for knowing how to call a game behind the dish. Former Brockton pitcher and pitching coach (and new Grosetto pitcher and pitching coach) Mike Smith said, “It definitely makes things easier having him catch you. He knows the hitters that have been in the league. He knows how to pitch them and get them out. He is pretty smart about setting up hitters. From a pitching standpoint, you don’t have to worry about what pitch you have to throw. He knows how to set them up, and that is one less thing that you have to worry about. Chris also has a great arm. You know if you can’t hold the guy on, he is able to throw him out. He is always willing to go out there no matter how he feels. He wants to play every day.” The durable catcher hit .296 in 2009 and .313 in 2010 with a career-high 57 RBI, which earned him spot on the Can-Am League All-Star team. A reliable contact hitter who can choose his spots to hit for power,Chris GrossmanGrossman can be a manager’s secret weapon strategically with men on base for his excellent hit-and-run potential. Having hit over .300 in the first half of the 2011 season, Chris led in the team in walks (36) and stole 17 bases in 93 games. Former MLB player and current Brockton Rox manager Bill Buckner said, “I have been happy with the way that Chris has played. He is a smart player and base runner.” Having tasted the life of a pro Minor League player while a member of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Grossman would like to get another opportunity to break into the Big Leagues. He echoed, “I am still hoping to get the chance. Meanwhile, I am enjoying what I am doing and being around guys that enjoy playing the game. It is a lot of fun.”Switch-hitting shortstop Jay Pecci adds spark to a Grosseto team charged with MLB experience.
35-year-old switch-hitting shortstop Jay Pecci has wanted to play in Italy for nearly a decade when he tried out in January of 2005 for the Italian national team that played in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Although he had hit a home run and a single
in his final scrimmage game, Pecci was cut from the Italian team before the international competition.
Pecci recalled, “It was real close. I felt like I was on
the bubble.” The versatile athlete has always had a knack for high drama going back to college when
Pecci walked on to the Stanford baseball team and impressed enough to become a everyday starter.
A 1998 All-Conference player, Pecci led Stanford to
the 1995 and 1997 College World Series and boasted one of the all-time best College World Series batting averages after going 10-for-17 (.588). At Stanford
he played with MLB success stories Jody Gerut,
Joe Borchard, Chad Hutchinson and eventual Gary SouthShore RailCats teammate Tony Cogan.Gary SouthShore RailCats All-time leader in hits and at bats, Jay Pecci was the 2008 Northern League
All-Star Game MVP and ranks in the top five in nearly every offensive category in Northern League history.Originally selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 11th round of the 1998 Major League Entry Draft out of Stanford, Pecci played four seasons in the Oakland A’s system–including a stint at Double-A Midland in 2001. The Novato, California native was claimed the following season by the Seattle Mariners in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. He advanced all the way to Triple-A Tacoma before the end of the 2003 season. Pecci finished 2003 as a San Francisco Giants farmhand and spent the entire 2004 season with the Double-A Norwich Navigators in the Eastern League.Grosseto shortstop Jay Pecci demostrates his acrobatics and athleticism everyday on the field.
Pecci came close to early retirement in 2004 when he fractured his skull and broke his jaw colliding with a Norwich teammate while chasing a flyball in Trenton, New Jersey. Having his jaw wired shut for a month, Pecci was determined in making a comeback. He remarked, “I thought at that point, I wouldn’t let that be my last game in baseball.” In his 15-year pro career, nothing came close to his personal best 2008 campaign with the Indy League Gary SouthSide RailCats. Pecci set the RailCats single-season hits record (115) that season and hit a career-best .317 batting average and .474 slugging percentage along with 26 doubles and nine home runs. He homered in the Northern League All-Star Game in 2008 and earned Most Valuable Player honors after hitting the game-winning home run in the ninth inning of the decisive Game Four of the Northern League Semifinals. Following the 2008 season, Pecci earned his first Post-Season All-Star commendation from the league as the circuit’s top shortstop. An agile and seasoned veteran ballplayer with well over 1000 games of experience, Jay Pecci will give Grosseto a competitive edge in the IBL.A proven expert in teaching the fundamentals of pitching, hitting, fielding, base running, and game strategy, Grosseto hitting coach Jefferson Infante draws from his experience as a minor leaguer and assistant scout for the Kansas City Royals as well as collegiate coach.Grosseto hitting coach Jefferson Infante played baseball at Dewitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where he earned All-City honors and played the all-star senior game at Yankee Stadium. After high school, Jeff played in the Dominican Republic in a recruiting league against professional teams before accepting an athletic scholarship to play at Louisberg College and leading his squad to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series. MLB scouts took notice of Infante while playing for Ramapo College, where he was named to the All-Conference team and earned All-American Honors. Jeff was drafted as a catcher by the Kansas City Royals in 2004. He went on to play for three years in the Royals farm system for Idaho Falls, and later signed an Indy League contract with the St. Joseph’s Black Snakes in Missouri. Although Jeff’s professional baseball playing career would come to an abrupt ending when he sustained a shoulder injury, he remained in the game as an invaluable coach to collegiate players. As the assistant baseball coach at Baruch College in Manhattan, Infante’s ability to convey information to players and make the game simpler has paid off as Baruch has made three championship appearances and won the 2009 championship title.Grosseto hitting coach Jeff Infante is the nephew of New York Yankees bench coach Tony Pena (shown here standing to the right of Yankees manager Joe Girardi in the Yankee dugout). With over 10 years of baseball instructional experience, Infante has been sought after to serve as personal training coach for some of New York’s finest. While offering private baseball instruction for the Cooperstown Athletics Sports Performance Training Facility in Manhattan, five of Jeff’s private alums have gone onto playing professional baseball within the last few years. Coupled with the injection of manager Mike Hartley and pitching coach Mike Smith, Infante and the new blood on Grosseto’s coaching staff now have the ability to positively impact the team’s bright future ahead. Finishing 13 games behind 2011 IBL Champion San Marino last season, the newly revamped and much improved Grosseto squad will be a top contender in Europe as a result of the 2012 MLB Italian Renaissance in Tuscany.